Brutal rape and murder of two women and teenage girl 'broadcast live on social media'

Police say around 45 people watched as cartel members carried out the sadistic acts, which included amputating one victim's fingers and suffocating another with a plastic bag.

Brenda del Castillo, 20, Morena Verdi, 21 and Lara Gutierrez, 15, were killed while being being watched by a closed group of viewers on the social media platform.

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The three victims had been accused of stealing four kilos of cocaine by a international drugs trafficking gang, who tricked them into going to a "horror house” on the outskirts of the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.

Detectives believe their torture and murder were ordered by the gang's king pin as a “deterrent” to others and labelled the crime a "narco act of revenge".

Police have identified the crime boss as a Peruvian national and believe he has fled the country.

Buenos Aires’ security minister Javier Alonso confirmed the vile acts had been filmed and broadcast live online.

He said: "It was for a closed group of around 45 people. That’s the information we have obtained so far from the investigation.

"It is relevant to the motive for the murders, which is that the leader of the gang is saying: ‘This is what happens to you if you steal drugs from me.'"

The young women's bodies were found on Wednesday, five days after they went missing.

They were last seen getting into a car voluntarily after they had been falsely invited to a sex party and offered £220 each to attend, police said.

However, they were "falling into a trap" set by the gang, who had "hatched a plan to kill them" at a property 20 miles away from where they lived, Mr Alonso explained.

Teenage Lara Gutierrez's body was found with all five fingers from her left hand cut off, while Brenda Del Castillo was discovered with a fractured skull and her stomach cut open.

After carrying out the murders, the gang set alight and burnt out the vehicle used to transport the victims.

When police raided the "horror house", they found two women cleaning the property and discovered the vehicle's charred remains parked about 100 metres away.

"We are convinced the victims were killed on Friday night between 11pm and midnight... Our investigation to apprehend the intellectual and material authors is very advanced," Mr Alonso added.

Police have so far arrested four people and eight more suspects are understood to have been held overnight.

Three of the arrestees are Argentinians - aged 18, 19 and 28 - two of whom are women. The fourth is a 27-year-old Peruvian.